UnderStand
by Twin-Krescent-Shadewalker
Summary: A story of understanding, the truth of love. The more one is understood by another, the greater that person can be loved by the other.. Let's take the Under-journey and attempt to understand.
1. Chapter 0

**Chapter 0**

It was a cloudy night. The full moon fought to shine down on the open field. A soft breeze blew through the field, sending the tall yellow grass into a dance. The only sound was the leaves of the surrounding trees rustling. Not a creature stirred not even the grasshoppers. The human army lining one side the field didn't stir. Each man was tensed up gripping their weapons tightly. The 'monster' on the other side held their weapon with trembling hands. The fear was palpable in the air. This wasn't what they wanted. The humans had decided to take over the world and exterminate the monsters. The monsters wanted peace, but they were different, so they had to go.

The leader of the human army, their King, stood stoic facing his opponent. The 'monster', with raven hair that glinted red in the moonlight and eyes burning with a fiery red power, stood for the monsters. Their soft features grew an edge to them over the long five years they had fought for their friends. Their eyes were shadowed by dark circles, they were tired. They had fought tooth and nail for peace... equality. They loved people on both sides, but the humans were wrong.

There were a few humans who disagreed with the war and wanted peace as badly as them... at least in the beginning. The humans weeded those out though, cursing them as 'monster lovers'. They gathered the dissenters, burning them alive, literally dragging them through the streets, bound hand and foot to horses until their broken bodies died. These were public spectacles, warnings to others. That is the humanity the 'monster' loathed. That is the hatred they fought against.

It seemed love was a commodity that was out of stock. So, the 'monster' fought, long and hard, praying to inspire love in the humans. They weren't physical battles at first. **They** debated and gave speeches and pleaded and begged for years... YEARS! It was for naught, humanities hatred was stronger than their love. So humanity declared war on the monsters. It was a slaughter, there was no war. The monsters refused to fight. They tried to run, to hide. The humans laughed at this, they made jokes, songs, wrote plays. All of them laughing at the 'cowardice' of the monsters. The humans began their hunts. They set out bounties. Bring us proof of your kills, they said, and we will pay you. There wasn't a single human casualty, but they KEPT KILLING.

So, **they** started killing. The humans acted with hate, mindlessly massacring innocents, so, the 'monster' became the hate of the monsters. They became the hunter of the hunters. They began to round up the monsters leading them to a haven that they had discovered in the mountains. Any time a hunter got close, they would end them. At first... No one was the wiser, monster or human. No one knew what they did. Then, the humans began to get suspicious. Their people were disappearing without a trace. It seemed that the monsters had finally grew a backbone. The humans set their armies on the hunt once more. **They** tried to harry them. Slaughtering as many as they could, with traps and poison. They began to realize though that wasn't good enough, the 'monster' couldn't carry on alone. There were just too many of them.

They revealed theimself to the monsters. **They** revealed the truth of their actions and begged for the monsters help in saving them from the human menace. The monsters shamed **them**. They were angry at **them**. Fighting back, they said, made them no better than the hatred the humans held. What did they expect **them** to do? Let the monsters be slaughtered to extinction? That was what was going to happen. They refused to see that at first. Finally, though, **they** convinced them of the truth. HUMANITIES HATRED WOULD NEVER STOP. **They** thought the monsters would help them fight, that together, they could finally end the human menace. The monsters had different ideas.

Instead of fighting, they said. We shall hide ourselves from this world. We shall seal ourselves away and live apart from humanity. It will be as if we never existed. So, they came up with a plan. They told the 'monster' the plan. **They** loathed it. Yet, **they** saw the necessity of it. So, **they** would be the one to execute it.

 *****Determination*****

The clouds cleared allowing the moon's full light to shine on the field. The humans' King face twisted from a look of hate to one of shock. The was a collective gasp from the human army.

"Ch... Chara!?" the King exclaimed at the sight the moon light revealed **.**

"That is right 'father.'" Chara, the 'monster' spat. The word left a sour taste in her mouth.

The human army exploded into a flurry of voices.

"It's... princess Chara."

"... knew ...filthy monster lover..."

"... betrayal..."

"...why..."

The King fell to his knees with tears streaming down his aged cheeks.

"How could you do this Chara? Turn against your own kind? How could you turn against me? What about your family? What about the people who love you?" The King pleaded.

Chara's eyes seemed to burn brighter.

 *****Determination*****

"What do you know of love?! You, who are so consumed of hatred that you know nothing else! You who lead mindless slaughters, seeking for the annihilation of an entire race! For what reason do you do this other than hatred?! Is it because they look different? Is it because they love so strongly that you hate them? Do you hate those who don't know hate because they don't know hate? Is it for the mere fact that they refuse to fight back that you slaughter them? What is the reason for your persecution, if not for the simplicity of your hate?"

"If it were greed, the slaughter is needless. They would gladly give up everything they own. That is a well known fact. No, it isn't greed. Is it because you are scared of them? Is it that they are so much more powerful than humans that you kill them? It can't be that, because to hurt others is against their nature. Fear of them is irrational and unsupported. There is no need for the slaughter. Perhaps then, you kill them because they are different? Simply because they aren't greedy, or cruel, or full of hatred. Maybe because they are physically different than us?"

"Maybe you persecute them because you **do** hate them for owning things and you want those things. Maybe you persecute them because you **do** hate them for being powerful, regardless of what they will do with that power. Maybe you actually persecute them because you **do** hate them for simply being different. There is no reason to hate them. They have done nothing to earn hatred. You can only hate them for things that are beyond their control and that is why I am against you. Your hearts know only hatred for what is inherently good and therefore, I denounce myself of this world. My family is with the 'monsters', as you call them. To me they possess true **Humanity.** To me... **YOU ARE THE MONSTERS!** So we will leave this world and live on our own, in peace. Humanity and monsters cannot exist together because you monsters will always hate our Humanity."

 *****Determination*****

"I was, at the beginning, like you monsters. I slaughtered those of you who would try to hurt those who possess Humanity. I became a monster like you. I hated you for what you did and are still trying to do. I still do. So I must atone. I cannot live with those who possess Humanity, because I am not worthy of them. So I shall instead sacrifice myself to protect them. This is my Redemption and their Salvation."

 *****Determination*****

Chara lifted her blade. Her body began to glow with a faint red outline. A bright red heart began to glow over the center of her of her chest. The heart flew out in front of her.

 *****Determination*****

Chara plunged her blade into the heart. A blinding flash filled the scene. The human army covered their eyes with a cry. The King lunged forward.

"CHARA!"

The light faded and Chara was on her knees. The light pulsating weakly. The King reached her and took her into his arms.

"Chara... what have you done?" he begged, his tears falling onto Chara's cheeks.

The glow around Chara was fading.

"I... It is... done... The Barrier... is in place... The monsters... are safe."

Chara gave her last breath as the glow disappeared.

The knife fell from her hands.

The King gave a loud scream of agony. His only child... dead... because of his actions, humanities actions. What had he done?

-Somewhere-

 *****Determination*****

... BUT IT REFUSED...

A/N: How's that for a first chapter? I haven't been actually written since my unfinished story back... some four years ago, maybe? Either way, tell me what you guys think... if you think anything. Thanks a skele-TON for reading.

Edit: Thanks Bobston. Spell checker is a liar. Fixed some grammar


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

 **Humble Beginnings**

* * *

A/N: Wanted to point out really quick, the types of dialogue we will be seeing through out this story.

The Voice = " _Italicized in quotes."_

Frisk's thoughts= _Italicized out of quotes_

Frisk's 'speech' = **"Bold in quotes."**

Other Characters = "Plain text in qoutes."

? = _**Bold and Italicized in/out quotes**_

Also, quick warning. The Voice, has a thing for the F-word. I feel like it suits their character and most of you will agree, I hope. They are a slightly more mature character and Frisk is aged to at least 15 so far. It's not far-fetched, I believe, for them to look so young as they do in the game and be that age. I've seen stranger things in the world.

* * *

" _HEY! WAKE UP! C'mon lazy bones, we can't sleep all day!"_

 _Nooooo... I don't wanna go to schooooool..._

" _ **WAKE UP OR I'll DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!"**_

* * *

Frisk jerked awake. They gave a cry of pain. Their whole body hurt. Where were they?

The last thing they remembered was... well, nothing... nothing but darkness. They were sure that there should be something there, but there was nothing.

Deciding to worry about their memory loss thhey forced themselves up slowly... the pain in their body was something of a dull ache. It was hard to move, but they had to find safety. They wouldn't last if they stayed there... alone.

 _"But... you aren't alone. I'm here."_

Frisk looked around quickly, and immediately regretted it. They released a garbled cry of pain. They shouldn't have moved so quickly.

Ever so slowly, they looked around for the owner of the voice. All they saw, instead, were the walls of the dim cave.

" _I'm in your head dum-dum... Do you remember my name?"_

 _In my head?_ Frisk wondered, it felt like a weird thought, but they could get behind it. Unfortunately, they couldn't remember the name of the voice. It made them wonder if they ever knew it. Then, they considered for a moment, if the voice could hear their thoughts.

As if reading their thoughts the voice hummed in their head, " _If you're wondering if I can read your thoughts, I can't. Although, I'm sure they aren't terribly interesting. So I'm not feeling the loss. I can however hear your voice if you were to,"_ the voice seemed to hesitate, but maybe it was their imagination, " _speak..."_

Frisk opened their mouths and tried to say something, but all the came out was a garbled, grating sound. They put their hands to their throat. _Oh yeah... I can't speak._

The voice conveyed amusement, _"Ohhhh... you're dumb. Maybe you're mute too. Can you speak sign language?"_

Frisk gave a huff of annoyance... and a small smile. They could respect a good pun... even if it was in poor taste. Then they wondered what sign language was, the thought of it struck a familiar chord with Frisk.

" _Come on. You have to be able to say something,"_ the voice urged, a smirk in their voice, _ **"**_ _Everyone has their own voice_ _, after all,_ _"_

* * *

 ***** THE MEMORIES CAME FLOODING BACK*****

" _Frisk, you can't live the rest of your life silent. You are going to take the sign language course."_

" _Frisk, you are doing very well for such a short time, and such a young child too."_

" _Well Frisk... I don't think there is anything else I can teach you. You've mastered this language. In the span of one short year I might add... your determination is astounding."_

" _Frisk... I have to leave soon... Remember always that even though you can't speak with your mouth, that doesn't mean you don't have a voice. The way you express yourself and the mark you leave on others is what your voice truly is. So remember... everyone has their own voice."_

* * *

Frisk was confused... those memories... who was that person? They decided to focus on that later and pay attention to the task at hand.

" **Your puns are terrible."** Frisk signed. They hoped that the voice could understand them. Frisk was glad that they remembered how to sign. It would have been inconvenient to be unable to communicate

The voice laughed, but it felt hollow to Frisk. " _I guess I'm just too pun-ny for you. Maybe you should broaden your horizons. It's a wide world of pun to explore out there. You might have more pun if you weren't so closed minded, or tight-lipped." _

The voice laughed again, this time it was genuine... at Frisk's expense. Their feelings were genuinely hurt. Maybe they couldn't talk, but that didn't make it okay for the stranger in their head to be cruel about it.

" **If you don't have anything nice to say. Then, stranger, don't say anything at all."** Frisk signed, chastising the voice.

There was no reply.

Frisk, satisfied that the voice had learned its lesson, turned their attention to examining their surroundings.

The only light in the room was the one shinning down on their head from above. They assumed that they had fallen into the cave from there. There was, however, no way back up. Frisk looked around once more. There was a single hallway leading out of the cave. It looked like there was no way to go but forward. So, Frisk took off walking.

At first, it was hard, with their body still aching from the fall, to continue. Frisk, however, managed to quickly find their stride and the pain was brought to a minor annoyance. It wasn't long before they found an elaborate portal to the next room. They walked in without hesitation.

* * *

Frisk was greeted with the sight of a patch of sunlight shining down on the only grassy patch in the center of the room. In the center of the grass stood a lone golden flower... with a face? Frisk took a couple of cautious steps forward.

The flower noticed them as they came closer and gave a big smile.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the Flower!" Flowey greeted in a jovial tone.

It studied Frisk for a moment.

"Hmm... You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?" Flowey gave an almost pitying smile, "Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!

 _That would be pleasant,_ Frisk thought, _New land, new people, new rules. All of this is so new to me. Ha... and I've only been here for a few short minutes. I wish I could remember more about things, maybe it would be useful. As it stands I'm going to have to rely on Flowey's advice._

"Well," Flowey continued, "I guess little ol' me will have to do. Ready? (Frisk nods) Here we go!"

Suddenly, they felt some part of themselves be pulled out of their body. It looked like a red heart. It floated in front of them a ways and looked to be trapped in a box of sorts. All of the surrounding color looked to be sucked out of the world leaving everything but Flowey pitch black.

 _"Wait a second. I didn't agree to this. Hey dum-dum, why is my SOUL out here?"_

Frisk was confused, the voice's 'soul' was in the box? Conveniently, Flowey answered Frisk's question before they could ask.

"See that heart?" Flowey asked, " That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!"

 _Wait,_ Frisk thought, _Flowey thinks that is_ _my_ _SOUL?_

 _"_ **Why does he think that your SOUL is mine?"** Frisk signed, questing the voice,

 _"Because it's fucking stupid? It's a talking_ _FLOWER_ _, what do you expect?" the voice deadpanned._

Flowey continued, "Your SOUL starts off weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV."

Frisk must've looked confused because Flowey grinned wider.

"What does LV stand for? Why Love of course. You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry. I'll share some with you!"

The flower finally paused long enough to give a charming wink, a little sparkle coming off of his eye. Frisk suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. His instincts screamed that something was wrong. The voice agreed. Suddenly, an arc of five white pellets began to float around Flowey.

"Down here," He claimed, "LOVE is shared through... Little white... "Friendliness Pellets." Are you ready? Move around! Get as many as you can!"

As he finished speaking the "Friendliness Pellets" began to approach the voices soul.

" _Yeah... I think I'll pass."_ The voice stated to Frisk.

It didn't take much for the voice's soul to dodge the pellets. Flowey's smile faded a little bit.

"Hey buddy, you missed them. Let's try again, okay?"

Another set of pellets appeared. Frisk was kind of uncomfortable with this. The voice's soul maneuvered around the pellets again. Flowey's face morphed into an angry frown.

"Is this a joke? Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. THE. BULLETS!"

Flowey smiled once more as the pellets reformed. "Friendliness Pellets," He corrected. Frisk was getting extremely nervous.

" **Maybe you should just do what he wants?"** Frisk offered quickly hoping to diffuse the situation.

 _"In your dreams. This flower is fucking creepy. I'd rather not do what it wants."_ The voice retorted as it, for the third time, dodged the pellets.

Flowey froze up for a brief moment. Then his face contorted into one that Frisk was sure would give him nightmares.

"You know what's going on here, don't you?" Flowey growled out in a horrid voice.

Frisk shook their head vigorously.

"You just wanted to see me suffer," Flowey stated. Pellets formed in a large inescapable circle around the voice's soul.

"DIE!"

The pellets began to slowly close in on the voice's soul.

 _"FUCKING FUCK!"_ the voice roared, " _I FUCKING KNEW IT!"_

Suddenly, there was a noise and the pellets disappeared. A ball of fire appeared seemingly from nowhere and sent Flowey flying.

* * *

A/N: I know it isn't much. It is something of an introduction chapter. Give you a taste of the style we will be using. The voice's soul will be doing all of the 'battling', while Frisk makes the decision to FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, or MERCY. I feel like it will add an interesting dynamic to the relationship of our main characters. ha. Puns.

Also, this will tend to slight AU with an interesting 'end-game'.

Another note to make is that half of this story, if I do my job right, is going to look at Understanding the motives of each character, some speculation on the 'human' condition, and many times will we address the subject of morality.

Til next time. That's all folks.

Why didn't the skeleton dance at the Halloween party? Because he had no-body to dance with!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Howdy! I would just like to say... that I love life. This world is so beautiful. It is far from perfect... but, there is so much beauty in us. There is so much potential in each of us... We have potential to move mountains. There is nothing that we can't do together. There is a story in the Bible about the tower of Babel. All of humanity shared one language and decided to build a tower to the heavens, but before they could finish it God confused their languages. Regardless of belief in the bible, the story has one undeniable moral. Together in ancient days, people we're working together to create something so great, that God decided to intervene. Just imagine the wonderful things we could do NOW in modern day. Moral of the story, rely on your friends and those you love. We can only do and handle so much alone. There are people out there who love you. Reach out for them, because they will catch you. I love you guys, everyone who reads this and those who don't. I love you because you exist and because you are you. I would love to know every single one of you personally. There is so much beauty in our individuality and that should be celebrated. I love you FOR your differences and your similarities alike. I am here if anyone ever needs someone to talk to or... simply to have someone to listen to you... I just felt like saying that. On to the story.

* * *

As Frisk sat against the marble pillar at the end of the lengthy hallway they had passed through earlier, they hummed a small tune. They had been sitting there for a few minutes in silence, just... enjoying the peace. The strange (goat?) monster had healed them after the rescue from Flowey. They were grateful for the release from the dull ache in their bones.

 _"Why are we still here? Are you that worn out already, or just that lazy?"_

Frisk felt a smile come to their lips. Their sarcastic, corporeal companion was a pleasant addition to their life.

 **"Just that lazy."** They signed, with a wide grin. If their partner wanted to be sarcastic, Frisk would play too.

 _"Wow... Careful with the sign language there... Wouldn't do for you to die from the effort."_ The voice deadpanned.

Frisk laughed, there was no sound, but that didn't stop their heaving chest.

 _"Do you find my sarcasm funny? Perhaps you need me to spell it out. I. Do. Not. Like. You. You are a human. You shouldn't be here. You come from that race of 'monsters'. We don't need you here. Your kind bring nothing but pain."_ The voice held nothing but loathing in their tone.

Frisk sobered up quickly during the voices rant. Their face devoid of emotion as they listened. Their fists were unconsciously curling into balls. After the voice quit speaking, Frisk still didn't move. They felt something akin to amusement from the voice.

 _"Finally run out of words? About time, I thought you'd never shut up."_ The voice teased.

 **"I hate me too."** Frisk signed with a false smile, **"I'm glad you feel the same way. However... If you hate me, then how are you any better than I am? You can't condemn me for being 'human' when you are too. HYPOCRITE."**

Frisk finished and there was silence from the voice.

 **"Finally run out of words? About time, I thought you'd never shut up."** Frisk signed. As they finished, the phone they had been given by the woman, Toriel, began to ring.

They hit the answer button and put the phone to their ear. It was Toriel's voice on the other side.

"Hello! This is Toriel. My errands are taking longer than I thought they would," Toriel admitted with a guilty chuckle, "You must wait five more minutes. Thank you for being patient." Click...

Frisk heaved a sigh, they had decided to wait for Toriel earlier, but after the argument they had just come out of... they needed to move. They stood up and stretched out. A few bones popped in their spine as they did. They looked at the decorated door leading deeper into the ruins.

 _If I come across something I can't handle, I could always wait for her there._ They shrugged and slipped their hands into their pockets. They slouched down as they walked out of the hallway.

The first thing they saw was a bright sparkle in the red leaves directly ahead. They paused to take a quick look around for danger. All they saw in the room was a monster, Froggit, standing by the path a little ways ahead.

As they went to walk ahead their phone began to ring again. They answered on the second ring.

"Hello? This is Toriel. You have not left the room have you?" She sounded slightly concerned, "There are still a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to try and solve them yourself. Be good, alright?" Click...

Frisk sighed, they weren't sure how Toriel expected this whole cellphone thing to work. Honestly, it was silly. Frisk couldn't speak. How would the cellphone be useful to them? Toriel did strike Frisk as slightly impulsive. They didn't think she was the type to really think things through.

They spotted the Froggit beckoning them over. Frisk waved and approached the monster with a friendly smile.

"Ribbit, ribbit," the monster said. Frisk couldn't understand it at all, "Ribbit.

 _"He said, 'Excuse me, human. I have some advice for you about battling monsters. If you ACT a certain way or FIGHT until you almost defeat them, then they might not want to fight you anymore. If a monster does not want to fight you, please, use some MERCY, human.'"_

Frisk nodded politely to Froggit. **"Thank You** _ **.**_ **"** they signed, **"I will most assuredly, heed your kind advice."**

Froggit seemed satisfied with their answer and hopped off. Frisk watched them leave. After they had gone. They began to sign once more.

 **"Thank you for translating..."** They paused and took a deep breath, gathering their determination, **"I apologize for my harsh words just earlier. It wasn't kind of me, regardless of your words. I'm sure you have your reasons to feel the way you do... I hope that I can prove you wrong..."**

There was a moment of silence... then, " _I... don't hate you. I just... I know what the human race is capable of and... I hate that... I hate the power to do evil that they have... The monsters... Have you ever heard the expression, 'Too good for this world"? That fits monsters perfectly..."_

Frisk knew that was the closest they would get to an apology and they stored the information away. They were skeptical however... They doubted that the monsters were that 'good'. To be truly good... that goal seemed out of reach.

Frisk left their thoughts behind and turned their attention to the familiar yellow sparkle. They knew what it was, their companion had explained it before. It was a SAVE point. It was a way to mark where they would return after death, or if they wanted to reset.

They touched the bright sparkle and felt a refreshing wave of determination to continue.

Frisk turned to the closest door to them. It was more of an unassuming, short hallway. They walked through it to find what looked to be a bowl of bright, colorful objects in a bowl on a pedestal. The pedestal in question was surrounded by a square of the red leaves and two streams of fresh water flowed on either side of the room.

Frisk felt a strong wave of nostalgia from their companion.

 _"I remember... setting this up with... Toriel... and... Anyway, the bowl is filled with candy... go ahead and take one. They're good,"_ the voice finished speaking and seemed to be waiting for Frisk to follow their orders.

Frisk was more than happy to comply. Candy, any candy, was good candy. They took a piece from the bowl and popped it into their mouth. It tasted delicous... like butterscotch. The only type of candy that was as good as chocolate.

 _"What do you think?"_ Their companion seemed almost... nervous.

 **"I love it,"** Frisk replied truthfully, **"The only candy better than butterscotch is chocolate. I haven't had butterscotch this good before though."**

Frisk could feel the satisfaction rolling off of their companion in waves.

 _"It's a family recipe. Everyone enjoyed it so much that we set up a bowl of them right here for anyone to enjoy... I even put up a sign so that monsters knew they could have one... They don't like to take things without permission. I... I knew you'd like it."_

Frisk questioned the truth of the last statement, but thought better than calling their partner out. They picked up two more pieces... and felt disapproval from their companion. They ignored it, stuffing the candy into their pocket. They felt selfish, but the candy was just so good... they couldn't resist. They turned and left the room, pushing the guilt away.

They continued ahead, following the worn path in the floor. They weren't paying attention to the ground, so when the ground below them gave out... needless to say they were shocked.

The fall wasn't far, but after their recent dive into the Underground... it sent them into a panic attack. They hit the floor and crumpled to the ground. Their eyes were squeezed shut, their heart was beating a mile a minute and they were close to hyperventilating.

" _Hey you're okay. Snap out of it. It wasn't that much of a fall. Come on... It's okay."_

The sound of their partner had a calming effect and Frisk was able to calm completely after a couple more minutes of gentle coaxing from their partner. Frisk finally found the strength to rise off of the ground and swipe away the leaves that had gotten caught in their messy hair.

 **"Thank you... I apologize for being so weak..."** Frisk gave a silent, mirthless chuckle and began to climb the staircase back up.

 _"It... It's okay... I... was the same way when I first... when I fell in."_ the voice admitted.

Frisk was a more than a little shocked. Did that mean the voice was human too? Were they one of the people who had climbed the mountain, only to never return? Frisk didn't think they would get answers if they asked, so they forged ahead. They would ask later... if they ever grew closer to their companion.

As they exited the hallway where they had fallen, their phone rang again. They slipped the clunky device out of their pocket and answered.

"Hello? This is Toriel. For no reason in particular... Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or Butterscotch? Tap on the speaker once for Cinnamon and twice for Butterscotch." She stated.

Frisk didn't hesitate before firmly tapping twice on the receiver. They put the phone back up to their.

"Okay. Thank you very much." Toriel said, and with a click the call ended.

Frisk smiled warmly and put the phone back in their pocket. Toriel seemed like a truly caring woman. They decided to stop wasting time thinking and forge ahead once more.

They spotted a rock in the middle of the room. The ground was worn between it and a switch that lay a few paces past it. Frisk started towards it when their phone began to ring once more. They felt a twinge of annoyance, but crushed it vehemently, as they answered the phone.

"Hello. This is Toriel. You do not dislike Cinnamon, do you?" Toriel questioned, "I know you're preference, but would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate? Tap once for no and twice for yes."

Frisk tapped the receiver once. They technically would, if presented with a plate of just Cinnamon, turn their nose up. They had made that mistake once and they weren't eager to repeat it. However, they were sure that Toriel wasn't being literal.

"Right, right, I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way." Click...

Frisk sighed and put the phone away. They had a feeling that this was going to be a long trek.

* * *

By the time they had reached the next SAVE point... Frisk was feeling slightly frustrated. The room with the wrecked floor... Frisk didn't want to think about it again. They were developing a phobia of falling. Then, came the talking rock... Frisk was losing patience. They touched the SAVE, feeling the familiar rush of determination.

They continued ahead … only to find their path blocked. This time a ghost was in the way. It was laying in the red leaves and kept saying 'z', pretending to be asleep. Frisk felt their patience snap and decide to move the ghost with force. The felt the soul be pulled out once more. It was an odd feeling.

Also, now that they were feeling better, they noticed something they hadn't seen with Flowey. There was, outside of the box, four floating options reading; FIGHT, ACT, ITEM, and MERCY. There was also a floating word, Chara. Beside the word was LV 1 and HP 20/20.

Frisk had played video games before falling into the Underground so the numbers and options. They also decided that their word was a name. They assumed it belonged to the voice inside their head.

 _"This is Napstablook,"_ Chara said, _"They've been down here for a long time. They... they seem different."_

Frisk nodded their acknowledgment and touched the ACT button. Four more buttons took its place: Check, Flirt, Threat, and Cheer. Frisk pressed Check. A text box appeared in front of them.

*Napstablook- ATK 10 DEF 10

*This monster doesn't seem to have a sense of humor...

After a few seconds the text box disappeared leaving the sight of the soul in the box.

 _"Good to know..."_ Chara hummed out.

"Oh, I'm REAL funny," Napstablook stated. They began to attack with their tears.

Chara's yelp of surprise reverberated in Frisk's skull. Their partner's red soul began to dodge the tears deftly. The stream stopped quickly and the text boxes reappeared. Frisk clicked ACT again and decided to try and Flirt with Napstablook.

 **"Are you made of Butterscotch? Because you look as sweet as candy."** Frisk signed with a flirtatious grin.

Napstablook sighed heavily and replied, "I'd just weigh you down."

The text box disappeared and Frisk felt Chara prepare for the next attack. None came, instead, the background of the box Chara's soul was in had 'Sorry, not feeling up to it right now' written inside. The 'attack?' ended and the buttons appeared again. Frisk frowned, they didn't like that the ghost was depressed. They tried to Cheer them up. Frisk noted Chara's feelings of approval.

Frisk gave Napstablook a patient smile.

Napstablook seemed shocked at the action. "Heh..." they said, and began their attack. Chara dodged easily... it seemed to be half hearted. After the attack Frisk noticed Napsta's improving mood.

 _"Try a joke. Napstablook always did enjoy a good joke."_ Chara suggested.

Frisk decided that there were worse ideas and signed a quick joke.

 **"What do you call a sleepy ghost?"**

"what?"

 **"A dead-head."**

Napstablook chuckled slightly. Their attack this round seemed to specifically avoid Chara.

Napstablook seemed to be feeling a lot better. They wanted to show Frisk something. Frisk clicked Cheer.

Napstablook's tears went up and formed a tall, dapper hat on their head. "I call it 'dapper' blook... do you like it?"

Frisk gave a thumbs up. Napstablook seemed to be pleased. The soul went back into Frisk's body. It seemed that the fight was over.

"i usually come to the ruins because there's nobody around, but today I met somebody nice... oh, i'm rambling again. i'll get out of your way" Napstablook stated in a warm manner. They slowly disappeared.

 _"Hey... Thanks for not attacking... It wouldn't have worked, because Blooky is a ghost... but I appreciate you cheering them up... This doesn't mean I like you though. You are a human after all. For all I know, you're just biding your time before you start killing. But... I've decided to give you a chance. You could be kind... Only time will tell."_ Chara stated with a soft hum.

Frisk decided to ask a question. **"Is your name Chara?"** They signed, hoping that this didn't back fire.

There was silence at first then... " _Caught that did you... Yeah... my name is Chara... What's yours?"_

 **"Frisk."** They replied.

 _"Frisk huh? I guess... Well... you do seem pretty, FRISK-Y."_ Chara joked with a laugh.

Frisk sighed and shook their head. How many times had they heard that joke? Too many.

* * *

A/N: I would like to note, for those of you that think Chara is acting OoC. The first time we meet her at the end of a Genocide run. She claims that it was YOU who turned her into an evil killing machine. I think that after you murder everything but Toriel in the RUINS, Chara becomes straight up evil and takes over Frisk's body. I think it lines up with what she says. This is, however, a tentative thesis. The main focus is on the fact though, that Chara is evil because our actions in the RUINS dictate her psyche. Therefore, she isn't evil now. She wasn't evil in the videos in the True Lab either. Just... messed up? She had it out for humanity, she still does... but dying tends to change a person. I'm still not sure how my view of Chara is going to come out in this. I can tell that she's decided to be a bit of an ass though.

By the way. What do bony guys use to unlock their door? A SKELETON KEY!

Peace.


End file.
